Phycology is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science.
Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant but a stramenopile, a group containing many protists.
Brown algae are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and polar regions. Many brown algae, such as members of the order Fucales, commonly grow along rocky seashores. Most brown algae live in marine environments, where they play an important role both as food and as a potential habitat. For instance, Macrocystis, a kelp of the order Laminariales, may reach 60 m (200 ft) in length and forms prominent underwater kelp forests that contain a high level of biodiversity. Another example is Sargassum, which creates unique floating mats of seaweed in the tropical waters of the Sargasso Sea that serve as the habitats for many species. Some members of the class, such as kelps, are used by humans as food.
Macrocystis is a monospecific genus of kelp with all species now synonymous with Macrocystis pyrifera. It is commonly known as giant kelp or bladder kelp. This genus contains the largest of all the Phaeophyceae or brown algae. Macrocystis has pneumatocysts at the base of its blades. Sporophytes are perennial and the individual may live for up to three years; stipes/fronds within a whole individual undergo senescence, where each frond may persist for approximately 100 days. The genus is found widely in subtropical, temperate, and sub-Antarctic oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and in the northeast Pacific from Baja California to Sitka, Alaska. Macrocystis is often a major component of temperate kelp forests.
Arame, sea oak is a species of kelp, of the brown algae, best known for its use in Japanese cuisine.
Christian Friedrich Ecklon was a Danish botanical collector and apothecary. Ecklon is especially known for being an avid collector and researcher of plants in South Africa.
Ecklonia cava, is an edible marine brown alga species found in the ocean off Japan and Korea.
Ecklonia is a genus of kelp belonging to the family Lessoniaceae.
Phlorotannins are a type of tannins found in brown algae such as kelps and rockweeds or sargassacean species, and in a lower amount also in some red algae. Contrary to hydrolysable or condensed tannins, these compounds are oligomers of phloroglucinol (polyphloroglucinols). As they are called tannins, they have the ability to precipitate proteins. It has been noticed that some phlorotannins have the ability to oxidize and form covalent bonds with some proteins. In contrast, under similar experimental conditions three types of terrestrial tannins apparently did not form covalent complexes with proteins.
Eckol is a phlorotannin isolated from brown algae in the family Lessoniaceae such as species in the genus Ecklonia such as E. cava or E. kurome or in the genus Eisenia such as Eisenia bicyclis.
Phlorofucofuroeckol A is a phlorotannin isolated from brown algae species such as Eisenia bicyclis, Ecklonia cava, Ecklonia kurome or Ecklonia stolonifera.
Ecklonia stolonifera is a brown alga species in the genus Ecklonia found in the Sea of Japan. It is an edible species traditionally eaten in Japan.
8,8'-Bieckol is an eckol-type phlorotannin found in the brown algae Ecklonia cava and Ecklonia kurome.
6,6'-Bieckol is an eckol-type phlorotannin found in the brown algae Ecklonia cava and Ecklonia stolonifera.
Eckstolonol is a phlorotannin found in the edible brown algae arame and turuarame.
Fucosterol is a sterol isolated from algae such as Ecklonia cava or Ecklonia stolonifera.
Victor Wilhelm Lindauer (1888–1964) was a New Zealand phycologist, collector and teacher.
Lessonia corrugata is a species of kelp, a brown algae in the genus Lessonia, commonly known as strapweed, common crapweed, or Tasmanian kombu. It is a subtidal species endemic to Tasmania and southern Victoria, Australia, and is the least studied of the only three Laminarian kelps in the region. The species was first described by Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas in 1931, and is most closely related to the New Zealand species Lessonia variegata.
